The proliferation of battery-powered devices continues to expand as technology increases. One such example includes use of batteries in electric vehicles, such as electrical cars, bikes, cycles, segways and the like. Generally, such batteries are rechargeable in nature and need to be recharged based on the usage thereof. Typically, charging stations may be used for charging such batteries of the electric vehicles.
The charging stations are generally open spaces having number of charging units (or charging stands) installed therein. Therefore, the job of setting up a charging station is very expensive and time consuming task. To address such problem, the use of charging apparatuses, which can be mounted on electrical structures, such as lamp post, are known in the art. Specifically, such charging apparatuses are electrically coupled to a power supply cable (carried by the lamp post) to provide the required electrical charging power.
In a United States patent application US20110246014, there is described a modular charging station system for conductive charging of the batteries of electric vehicles. The modular charging station system includes a base unit, a master module, and a user module. The base unit is configured without electronics and has at least one clamping device for the power feed and compartments for accommodating the master module and the user module. The master module and the user module form a high-current transmission device, with the master module having a socket and the user module having a plug that corresponds to the socket of the master module.
In another United States patent application US20110140657, there is described a method and system to deploy electrical charge spots in stages according to demand. During a first stage a plurality of infrastructure adapters are installed, which may involve demolishing and rebuilding portions of the infrastructure and laying down power cables from the electrical power supply to the charge spot locations. The infrastructure adapters are then coupled to an electrical power supply. Further, if not all, many of the infrastructure adapters are covered with a temporary housing protecting them from vandalism and weather. During a second stage, in response to a demand for charge stations, the charge stations are completed. During the second stage, at least one external unit is attached to an infrastructure adapter by making an infrastructure adapter quick connect interface with an external unit quick connect interface.
Typically, such charging apparatuses may be associated with specific charging outputs, for example 16 Ampere (A), 32 A, 63 A or 120 A. Therefore, once such charging apparatuses are mounted or installed on the electrical structures, such electrical structures (or charging point) are configured to provide charging outputs corresponding to the charging apparatuses installed thereon. For example, a charging apparatus installed in a particular lamp post may provide 32 A of charging output, similarly another charging apparatus installed in another lamp post may provide 63 A of charging output. Therefore, it may not be possible to obtain different charging outputs from a same charging point (particularly, from the same electrical structure or the same charging apparatus). Accordingly, to obtain increased or decreased charging output re-installation of the whole charging apparatus needs to be performed on the electrical structure, which is again an expensive and a time-consuming task.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of conventional charging apparatuses.